Powder bed three-dimensional (3D) fabrication is an additive manufacturing technique based on binding particles of a powder to form a 3D object. Binder jetting is one type of powder bed 3D fabrication. In binder jetting, a controlled pattern of the liquid binder is applied to successive layers of the powder in a powder bed such that the layers of the material adhere to one another to form a three-dimensional green part. Through subsequent processing, the three-dimensional green part can be formed into a finished 3D metal part.
A 3D fabrication system may comprise at least a printing subsystem, a build box (also known as job box) subsystem, a de-powdering subsystem and a sintering furnace. The build box subsystem may comprise a powder print bed with a constituent object therein. During the fabrication process, the constituent object may be in any of various stages of formation and/or processing. In a typical fabrication environment, multiple build boxes may be distributed across the active processing chain. There are generally few distinctions between different individual build box subsystems, so the operator/user of the binder jet fabrication system is responsible for keeping track of the contents of a particular build box subsystem and its processing status.